Whenever I tell someone I'm running a half marathon this spring, the response is almost always, "Oh, are you running the Pig?"
When I tell them no, I'm actually going to Pittsburgh and doing their half marathon, the next question, invariably, is, "Well why aren't you doing the Pig?"
I've explained what Pittsburgh has to offer in my previous post, but I haven't explained what the Flying Pig doesn't have to offer. So here's why not the Pig:
But first, let me say this: I want to like the Pig; I really do. Even though I give the race a hard time in this blog, I only do so because I'm passionate about wanting to see it succeed as a race. After all, it is the biggest and most prestigious running event in Cincinnati, and people in the city (beyond just the running community) really care about the event and those participating.
I do want to run events that people in my community care about; however, I also want to run events that make a commitment to supporting the sport of road racing through performance incentives such as prize money, time bonuses, comp'd entry fees, promoting a competitive field, etc. Reconciling those two goals in my racing means that I will race in some local events (Thanksgiving Day Race, Hyde Park Blast Elite 5k, to name a few), but that I will also forgo local races for better, more competitive events in other cities. Especially when I'm chasing a 1:05 1/2 marathon or 2:18 full marathon, I plan on running races that give me the best opportunity to hit those time standards.
The problem is that the Pig just isn't the venue to run a fast time.
My first concern is that the course (especially for the half marathon) is unreasonably hilly. Listen, I'm not complaining about hills, and it is nice to see challenging courses; some of my fastest times on the road and cross country have come on rolling courses. And the first half of the Pig's half marathon is a nice rolling course over the bridges of Ohio and Kentucky. But then you leave the city and climb up the river valley. And up. And up. And keep going. From about miles 6.5 - 9, you have an all-uphill stretch in 4 steep steps without any respite. Sure, you go back downhill after the mile 9, but a 2.5 mile uphill is too extreme for a fast time.
As such, finishing times for the half marathon are typically slow. One reason is definitely the hilly nature of the course, another is the lack of high-caliber competition. In an average year, a finishing time between 1:12 and 1:15 will win it...which does nothing for me when I'm trying to run literally a mile ahead. If I wanted to run a time trial, then I'd just hop on the bike path one day, and save the stress (and money) of race day.
The course certainly deters some of the competition (knowing you can run on a much more reasonable course somewhere else), but so do the performance incentives...or lack thereof. The Pig offers nothing for elite and sub-elite athletes. They're trying, but they're just not getting it done. This year they are bring in Ryan Hall...running the 10k, typically the least competitive of all their weekend events. The past few years they've brought in Asics Aggies runner Sergio Reyes...to win the marathon by 10-15 minutes. One runner does not make a competitive races. This year they established overall prize money and local prize money in the Little Kings Mile...making the announcement a scant month in advance, hardly enough time to prepare for and plan around a race schedule that is often established months in advance.
The Pig is trying, to be sure, but they're frustratingly just not on the right track. Prize money for all their races (or at least the main events) would be a step in the right direction (and would also attract great competition), but other, cheaper options would go a long way toward establishing the Pig's credibility as a top-tier race. Things like: seeded entries for faster runners, a separate pre-race corral for those runners, comp'd entry fees for some, elite fluid and fueling stations, travel assistance, building relationships with local and regional club teams, and the list goes on. Prize money is great, but there are many other creative ways to attract top local and regional athletes.
So that's why not the Pig. Because of the combination of course difficulty and lack of competition, it's just not the kind of high-caliber race to run a fast time...and I am, after all, chasing a time standard. Part of it is the practicality of the race, part of it is the principle of the matter: I don't want to support a race that doesn't support me as an athlete.
I'd love to be a part of the race in the future, but at this point in time there better races in the region.
When I tell them no, I'm actually going to Pittsburgh and doing their half marathon, the next question, invariably, is, "Well why aren't you doing the Pig?"
I've explained what Pittsburgh has to offer in my previous post, but I haven't explained what the Flying Pig doesn't have to offer. So here's why not the Pig:
But first, let me say this: I want to like the Pig; I really do. Even though I give the race a hard time in this blog, I only do so because I'm passionate about wanting to see it succeed as a race. After all, it is the biggest and most prestigious running event in Cincinnati, and people in the city (beyond just the running community) really care about the event and those participating.
I do want to run events that people in my community care about; however, I also want to run events that make a commitment to supporting the sport of road racing through performance incentives such as prize money, time bonuses, comp'd entry fees, promoting a competitive field, etc. Reconciling those two goals in my racing means that I will race in some local events (Thanksgiving Day Race, Hyde Park Blast Elite 5k, to name a few), but that I will also forgo local races for better, more competitive events in other cities. Especially when I'm chasing a 1:05 1/2 marathon or 2:18 full marathon, I plan on running races that give me the best opportunity to hit those time standards.
The problem is that the Pig just isn't the venue to run a fast time.
My first concern is that the course (especially for the half marathon) is unreasonably hilly. Listen, I'm not complaining about hills, and it is nice to see challenging courses; some of my fastest times on the road and cross country have come on rolling courses. And the first half of the Pig's half marathon is a nice rolling course over the bridges of Ohio and Kentucky. But then you leave the city and climb up the river valley. And up. And up. And keep going. From about miles 6.5 - 9, you have an all-uphill stretch in 4 steep steps without any respite. Sure, you go back downhill after the mile 9, but a 2.5 mile uphill is too extreme for a fast time.
As such, finishing times for the half marathon are typically slow. One reason is definitely the hilly nature of the course, another is the lack of high-caliber competition. In an average year, a finishing time between 1:12 and 1:15 will win it...which does nothing for me when I'm trying to run literally a mile ahead. If I wanted to run a time trial, then I'd just hop on the bike path one day, and save the stress (and money) of race day.
The course certainly deters some of the competition (knowing you can run on a much more reasonable course somewhere else), but so do the performance incentives...or lack thereof. The Pig offers nothing for elite and sub-elite athletes. They're trying, but they're just not getting it done. This year they are bring in Ryan Hall...running the 10k, typically the least competitive of all their weekend events. The past few years they've brought in Asics Aggies runner Sergio Reyes...to win the marathon by 10-15 minutes. One runner does not make a competitive races. This year they established overall prize money and local prize money in the Little Kings Mile...making the announcement a scant month in advance, hardly enough time to prepare for and plan around a race schedule that is often established months in advance.
The Pig is trying, to be sure, but they're frustratingly just not on the right track. Prize money for all their races (or at least the main events) would be a step in the right direction (and would also attract great competition), but other, cheaper options would go a long way toward establishing the Pig's credibility as a top-tier race. Things like: seeded entries for faster runners, a separate pre-race corral for those runners, comp'd entry fees for some, elite fluid and fueling stations, travel assistance, building relationships with local and regional club teams, and the list goes on. Prize money is great, but there are many other creative ways to attract top local and regional athletes.
So that's why not the Pig. Because of the combination of course difficulty and lack of competition, it's just not the kind of high-caliber race to run a fast time...and I am, after all, chasing a time standard. Part of it is the practicality of the race, part of it is the principle of the matter: I don't want to support a race that doesn't support me as an athlete.
I'd love to be a part of the race in the future, but at this point in time there better races in the region.
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